In textile circular knitting machines and in other yarn or strand handling procedures and apparatus, the feeding of yarn is controlled positively through a pulley arrangement driven by an endless belt. Periodically such belts deteriorate and break requiring repair or replacement thereof. The belts typically are formed of a fabric-backed rubber material which is not inexpensive and, therefore, broken belts are not ordinarily discarded but instead are conventionally repaired by splicing thereof through a process of grinding or shaving the belt ends, applying glue thereto, and joining the belt ends while applying heat thereto to bond the belt ends together. This conventional repair procedure has several operational and cost disadvantages. First, a relatively significant initial and ongoing investment of capital is required to be properly equipped to perform the slicing repair procedure in that special grinding and heating machines are required to perform the respective steps of shaving or grinding preparation of the belt ends and heating of the joined belt ends, both of which machines represent a relatively significant initial capital investment and further require periodic maintenance and repair in themselves, and a sufficient supply of appropriate glue is also required, which has a relatively limited shelf life. Additionally, since yarn is fed to conventional circular knitting machines from an overhead creel, it is not possible to install a spliced belt on the machine without taking down all yarn ends leading into the machine from overhead which of course is ordinarily entirely impractical and accordingly it is characteristically necessary that at least the steps of gluing and bonding of the belt ends be carried out at the knitting machine with the belt in place in its operating position. As a result, replacement belts cannot be prepared and inventoried in advance but can only be prepared when needed and at the particular location required. As will be understood, the down time of machines experienced due to broken belts is at least the amount of time required to perform the splicing procedure and can be substantially greater if the belts of more than one machine break at the same time since it is normally not economically justifiable for most textile knitting mills to maintain more than one heat bonding machine. Furthermore, because the conventional splicing procedure is relatively time-consuming and troublesome, it is often typical for mills to discard otherwise usable lengths of broken belts and to replace them with a new belt which requires only one splicing operation rather than splicing several shorter belt lengths.
As a result of these disadvantages, some knitting mills have in recent times begun splicing broken belt ends by an old and well-known system of mechanical interconnection wherein a central opening is cut in one belt end with a longitudinal slit extending therefrom and notches are cut in opposite side edges of another belt end whereby the notched belt end may be inserted through the slit and central opening of the first belt end and the portion of the notched belt end between the notches positioned in the central opening to mechanically interconnect the two belt ends. As will be understood, this mechanical splicing procedure eliminates substantially all of the above-discussed disadvantages of the conventional glue and heat bonding procedure in that no costly machinery or supplies are necessary and the preparation of the belt ends may be performed both quickly and in advance whereby several small belt lengths may be inventoried for quick spliced interconnection at a machine immediately when needed to substantially reduce machine downtime to a minimum. However, certain disadvantages also exist presently with this mechanical splicing procedure in that, to date, this procedure has always been performed by hand in a relatively inexact but otherwise effectively operable manner.
The present invention provides a significant and needed improvement of the mechanical splicing procedure by providing a simple and inexpensive apparatus and method for preparing belt ends in a precise and exact manner for mechanical spliced interconnection of the above-described type.